IN FAIRYTALE LAND OF THE PAST YEAR… | While the Wicked Witch whirls and twirls inside Regina’s castle and clothes, Regina remembers a tunnel that runs beneath the castle, and thus would circumvent the protection spell. After another close call with a flying monkey, Belle says such creatures hail from Oz; as such, Regina notes, it must be the Wicked Witch they’re dealing with.

Regina sets out for the tunnel by herself (“I don’t care if the lollipop guild is protecting her, its a one woman job”), but Robin Hood, owing a debt to Regina for her protecting his son Roland from the monkey, tags along for protection. En route to the courtyard to snuff the fire that fuels the spell, Regina and Robin trade stories of loves lost (her son, Roland’s mother), but then Regina notices that the door to her mother’s crypt is ajar, despite having been locked with blood magic. Up in her castle, Regina is quick to formulate a sleeping spell — to use on herself, on the slim chance that her one true love Henry one day finds her and can save her. After putting out the courtyard fire, Regina is about to prick herself with the poison when the Wicked Witch arrives to interrupt.

After trading some bitchy banter, the Wicked Witch aka Zelena realizes that Regina has no idea how she was able to break the blood magic. “Cora never told you…? You’re my sister.” (Half-sister, but details!) Zelena explains how Cora gave her up, but kept Regina and thus gave her everything. As such, Zelena wants Regina to suffer, rather than have quick death or eternal sleep. “Bring it, greenie,” Regina taunts her new foe, who then flies off on a broom. Back with Robin, Regina says she has indeed found something new to live for: someone to destroy!

IN STORYBROOKE…. | The Charmings explain to Emma how after she and Henry drove out of town, everything went black, and then it was “just another morning” in Storybrooke, except a year later. Hook meanwhile relates how he was off sailing the realms when he got word via a seagull that Emma needed to be found, with the memory potion attached to the bird’s leg. Leroy then barges in to report that more people are disappearing, as they have been since Storybrooke returned. Is Neal out in town somewhere? Has he already been taken? Or did he escape this new curse?

At the diner, Henry meets Mary Margaret and David — the former claiming to be an old cell mate of Emma’s, put away for “banditry” (heh). Regina then lays eyes on Henry and is shocked, dropping a cup. “He looked right through me,” she laments to Emma, who in private brings her frenemy up to speed on the sitch. Meanwhile in the woods, Little John is off trying out a fancy modern bow with Robin and the other Merry Men when a flying monkey grabs him. After being found, bitten, John transforms into a flying monkey and soars away from the hospital. (Even Dr. Whale is stumped, saying, “I’m a doctor, not a vet!”)

Snow White, aghast to read about such things as cradle cap, meets Zelena, who claims she was but a “supporting player” and midwife back in the Enchanted Forest. Asked to help Snow with her imminent baby, Zelena grins, “I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.” Later, Regina and Emma plot to smoke out the person who cast the new curse by spreading word that a memory potion is being created. Alas, Zelena vanishes in a puff of green smoke just as the ladies storm Regina’s office.

“True Detective” Season 2?

Back at the Charmings’ place, Emma introduces Henry to Mayor Mills, who offers the boy a tour of the town and maybe a stop for ice cream. (“It’s a start,” a forlorn Regina later tells Emma.) Charming and Hook then arrive to report on the flying monkey situation, prompting Emma to joke about this being the work of “the Wicked Witch” — and Regina concurs, dead-serious.

As the hour closes, we see Zelena outside a rural Storybrooke home at night, walking out to a storm cellar. Inside, she slides a tray of gruel to her prisoner — a very much alive Rumplestiltskin. “You should never have brought me back,” he hisses. To which Zelena shrugs, “Eat up — we have work to do.”

What did you think of Once Upon a Time‘s “Witch Hunt”? Which twist surprised you more — the sisterly connection, or Rumple’s return?

Really digging this witch vs witch arc. Wish more witches will show up, like an epic showdown of all witches… Fiona Goode anyone? Also, heart is breaking for Regina & Henry. Loved how emotional Lana Parrilla’s eyes were when she saw Henry.

On another note, all episode long, I was missing Rumple. Glad he showed up at the end (though it was obvious when Greenie revealed she had a prisoner). Rumple sent that potion right???? Is should be him?

Zelena said she was born before Cora became a royal. When Rumple and Cora met, it was so Rumple could teach Cora to spin straw into gold so she could marry the prince. This means that Zelena couldn’t be Rumple’s daughter, as she married the prince shortly after meeting Rumple, thus becoming a royal.

Considering that Rose McGowan returns in a future ep as young Cora, and in the same episode I believe we’re so supposed to meet a young Leopold (Snow’s dad), I’m kind of wondering if he won’t end up being Zelena’s father. This show does like it’s twisted family trees after all.

Zelena had quite the interest in Snow’s baby that I agree with you Lynyrd that Leopold is her father. This would make her a half-sister of Snow and Regina. I believe she will try to use Henry and Snows’ unborn child to punish and hurt both sides of her family that abandoned her.

Ugh, so Cora had a child with King Leopold then pushed her other daughter to marry King Leopold. Wouldn’t the King have an issue with this? Snow’s half sister is also her step-mother’s half sister…writers, please stop making everyone related.

There’s also the possibility that was presented in a different way in the musical Wicked, with some kind of green enchantment or potion being cast by either party that was the initial cause of conception.

In Wicked, the mom has an affair after being given a green elixir drink. That is how the baby was born green. Now, I can see this being an explanation on why Zelena is green and why she was given away, possibly being the result of an affair….

Due to copy write laws “Once” can’t use anything from the musical Wicked. They can only use things found in the Wizard of Oz books. Similarly the magic slippers will be silver as in the books not ruby red as in the MGM film, which is still protected.

Rumple’s skin color (which is not green, but a sort of greyish-greenish-goldish sparkly thing) has nothing to do with anyone on the show but him. It’s a mark of the curse. He’s human. And besides that, he’s not related to the Wicked Witch.

Really loving the direction of the arc for the second half of the season, better than the Neverland arc. Really enjoyed Regina/Emma working together again (True Detective OUAT style) they are a good team and so happy Rumple is back. Also was anyone really surprised Regina and Zelena were related?

wow, it’s 2014 and I still have to explain adoption to people that watch OUAT.
Perhaps the adoption wasn’t by the book but Regina raised him and cared for him AS HER SON, making her his mother. This does not lessen Emma’s role in Henry’s life, but Emma shouldn’t lessen Regina’s role either.

Well, the fact that Regina was so horrible to Henry that he was willing to believe she was the Evil Queen, and run away, and the fact that her curse was so important to her that to keep it intact she was willing to make Henry appear delusional and feel left out and unloved…. does slightly lessen her maternal rights. But it has nothing to do with adoption. If she had been his birth-mother, that statement would still apply.

Nope. He’s not. Zelena SPECIFICALLY said that she was born before Cora got mixed up with the royalty. She met Rumple AFTER she got mixed up with royalty and not long before her wedding to Henry. So there’s no way for him to be the father.

I have to say I am impress that the show did not drag out the connection between Regina and Zelena, they took by surprise by revealing it quickly. What surprise me is that Regina knows there is no way to break blood magic, but she would not consider the possibility there is someone out there who she may have blood relations, I guess she was that confident she knew her parents past before she was born.

much better episode than last week, the pacing felt just right this time. not digging the sister thing. i just don’t understand the need of the writers to make every new character related to one of the main characters. i’m curious what will happen next week, and how long it will take before the first storybrooke resident gets her/his memory back.

I just want to say that I’m thrilled that it appears that OUAT has finally gotten back to being awesome. This episode was everything that had been missing. I hope they don’t kill it. I was thrilled for Neverland and that was a slow, painful torture.

I enjoyed this episode even more than the midseason premiere. I’m not a huge fan of everyone being related and new family members being pulled out of the hat as they go along, but Rebecca Mader and Lana Parrilla sold they Zelena and Regina dynamic. Very happy with Mader as the WW so far in general, fab casting choice.
I’m also really enjoying the Regina and Robin Hood dynamic. Snarky and fun, but also works very well in quieter, more emotional moments. Lots of potential there, I’m looking forward to the show exploring that further. And more of cute little Roland, please! :) Emma and Regina are always great together anyway and I’m happy to see that the writers are allowing their relationship to progress. I was a tad worried at the beginning of the episode, but loved their rouse at the city hall and the “true detectives” moments afterwards.
Henry being reunited with a family he doesn’t remember was heartbreaking. Snow sitting with him at the diner and of course the scene with Regina at the Charming apartment called for tissues. I do wonder if the sleeping curse is going to come into play for Regina and Henry again later this season. Even though Zelena’s got her hands on it now. Fingers crossed they’ll manage to turn Little John (and whoever else is affected) back into his human form, too.
Robert Carlyle was brilliant in that final scene that revealed Rumple’s fate. So glad to have him back. And on a more shallow note: Robin Hood looked very handsome in his modern day, Storybrooke outfit. Wouldn’t say no to more of that either. ;)

Spot on comments! I also am not usually a fan of convoluted family tree plot twists, but this one actually doesn’t bother me, and as people have mentioned they might really not be sisters after all. There were SEVERAL laugh-out-loud moments during this episode- which is not something I’m used to, but there were some real knee slappers, Snow’s “banditry” comment and everyone’s reaction to little john turning into a monkey. I don’t know if there’s been a conscious decision to make the tone more tounge-in-cheek or if this episode was a one time thing, but I really liked it! I like Regina & Robin Hood (do they have a ship name?) but they laid it on a little thick this episode, still looking forward to it though. LOVED Regina and Emma teaming up and co-parenting. Snow and Charming are back to being adorbz :) love that too. And yes rumple was amazing in that last scene, the show needs him. All of the actors were really at their best this episode and the writing was great!

Also, watching Zelena touch Snow’s bump, is anyone else not 100% sure that that’s a normal baby or even Snow’s let alone Charming’s? Splitting season 3 into two separate but very clear arcs with little to no breaks is probably one of ABCs better ideas. (I’ll still never forgive them for Happy Endings though.)

Lolz. I’m shaking my head at the writers. Just once I’d like to see hook in like a flannel shirt and corduroy pants trying to make coffee or something. If robin hood gets a cross bow hook should be able to enter this century too.

I totally agree – Belle and Baelfire/Neal will find a way. It may take everyone in the “family” – Emma, Regina, Snow, etc. to bring Rumple back. He sounded like his old self, but a couple of shots seemed to show that his skin wasn’t quite the dark magic skin completely.

Good thinking! She put the blood into a potion, could have drunk it and was then able to open the crypt. Although why lie about her parentage?? Also is Cora in the crypt? Remember Regina at first thought she was, but Cora was faking, right? That’s how she ended up being in the part of the realm that was never cursed by Regina.

Interesting idea. Although Rose McGowan will be returning as young Cora in a couple of episodes, so there is probably still a connection to Cora somehow. May the blood spell thing is like a pure blood thing and if they’re half sisters, then only half of their DNA is shared so Zelena wouldn’t be able to break it. I don’t know just throwing out ideas.

Wasn’t she already in Regina’s castle by the time the monkey got her Regina’s blood, though? I thought they meant to suggest that Zelena had to take the same way to get into the castle that Robin and Regina did in this episode because before the initial curse hit Regina had placed her own protection spell around the castle. To hijack it Zelena had to get inside first and mess around with that fire in the courtyard.

Loved this episode! While the revelation with the Wicked Witch/Zelina was interesting, I was more captivated with Regina & Robin Hood banter. Such good chemistry between the two. I’m happy to see another side of Regina this season; LP captures them all so well. What’s their ship name going to be? Robina?

Matt I think Rump is in a storm cellar not a root cellar. it’s used for people to seek shelter when there’s a bad storm or tornado (cute Oz/Kansas tie-in)
Interesting that Rump looked like “Mr Gold” but had his Rumple personality..

This has to be one of my favourite episodes of this show. I loved every second of it. Even though I called the sister connection right when the scene started, it didn’t bother me one bit. The family tree is already crazy at it is, so I’m not really too annoyed by another addition. Can’t wait for Zelena’s backstory.
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I think Rumple might definitely be Zelena’s father. Also does anyone else think that she brought Rumple back as Rumplestiltskin and erased the memories of Mr. Gold?
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That scene from the picture above of Regina and Henry was so heartbreaking. I’m so glad they didn’t pit Emma and Regina against each other again. It’s really great seeing them work together.
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Did anyone else think that Zelena might have done something when she touched Snow’s stomach? I don’t know, but I definitely have a bad feeling about the baby. Lol what if it’s a flying monkey.
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Regina and Robin moments were really great as well.

I definitely think that the baby is important. Maybe the baby is going to be OUAT’s version of Dorothy? Or maybe Snow’s father is the Wicked Witch’s father so the Wicked Witch wants to take the baby away from them (like she was cast away from her family)? Or made it green?

Am I the only one who thought Zelena’s story could be fake? She had a monkey steal blood from Regina…could that be to make a spell to unlock the ‘blood magic’?….maybe I’m just going all Harry Potter/Voldemort on this…maybe she’s just playing mind games…I thought she revealed her story too easily…no Villian ever gives up their motives like that!!!

I totally think that! I was watching the scene and thinking, “if this was true, no way would the writers reveal it now. They’d make it a towards-the-finale shocker, and the family tree is already messed up enough as it is.” And yeah, the way I thought of it was how Voldemort took Harry’s blood…wow we think a lot alike.

Back before the show came back, I was joking with my friends that I couldn’t wait to see how the Wicked Witch fit on Henry’s family tree. I am deeply amused yet kind of sad to see that the show really did go there again.

I rolled my eyes too, although I knew they wouldn’t resist going there. *yawns*
That said, I’m glad Regina finally gets some well-deserved focus (re Henry, too) that is not just her being the evil queen vs. the Charmings.

A lot of us predicted the sisters angle way back when they first released info on WW. Almost cliche’. I’m pretty distracted by how much Zelena reminds me of Emily Deschanel [Bones]. She certainly is beautiful.

I called them being sisters like MONTHS ago. This ‘shocking twist’ was about as ‘shocking’ as the Malcolm!Pan debacle from S3A. Neither was shocking to me, I saw them both coming miles away. I’m tired of everyone being related to everyone. This is turning more into a soap opera with daddy/mommy issues than villains with real evil that doesn’t stem from them being abandoned, etc. *rolls eyes*

I would love to see bloopers where the WW disappears due to green screen malfunction.
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It looks like they are using purple instead, but still could be funny to watch.
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Loved the episode, looking forward to really bat sh!t crazy Rumple.

They’re sisters?! Seriously. :/ There family tree is already complicated enough and they’ve used this gimmick so many times already, it wasn’t even a shock. I thought it was a good episode and I’m enjoying 3B so far but I fear the writers will do what they did with Lost and sooner or later write themselves into a corner. They need to be careful

I also should mention happy I was that Emma was questioning where Neal was (more than once!). Although if he was there, it would be one heck of a story she’d have to come up with to explain him to Henry….

Well this episode did not disappoint me. I loved how Regina and Emma worked together. Also, it looks like Rumple is or has totally lost his mind. Has Regina truly met her match in Zelena? I hope that Regina will come around to really getting to know Robin Hood. I think they will end up together but not when Zelena is still in the picture. Well, I will stay tuned for next week’s episode, with great anticipation.

I figured out the sister connection last week but WOW was I shocked to see Rumple in the cell. Yet again Once absolutely nails casting with the Wicked Witch! I do have a feeling that Rumple is her father.. Just a gut feeling, I could be 100% wrong but you never know. This season just keeps getting better and better. I really can’t wait to see where this all goes!

My only problem with the whole Rumple is WW father is that, why would he be so obsessed with getting baby Regina if he had his own daughter Zelena. Time frame seems off and yes it could be explained that he never knew but it still is sketchy. I like the theory mentioned above about Zelena being Leopolds daughter and then if you think about it if Cora had Zelena before meeting Rumple then the whole “I get your first born child” would be void because Regina wouldn’t be her first born child, Zelena would.

They’ve never really explained why rumple was always after “first born” (he tried to take cinderella’s too). Why? He never gave up on finding neal, so it wasn’t to replace him, and it’s not because he needed a protege, he had plenty of those. I know it is a part of the original rumple fairy tail but I look forward to OUAT explanation as well.

That family tree is getting out of control! I knew they’d be sisters, but I was hoping they wouldn’t go there. I won’t be the least bit surprised if Rumple is the father. So Cora threw Zelena into Oz, and Regina threw Cora into Wonderland! I also have to note that Rebecca Mader’s WW is already leagues better than Mila Kunis in the Oz movie, in looks and acting.

Didn’t Rumple seem a bit insane in the cage? If he were to escape he would be able to tell everyone who the Wicked Witch is and I don’t believe Emma and all are due to find that out for a while. Perhaps his state of mind has something to do with what happened to Neil.

Loved the episode, great to have Rumple back! Okay two theories on how he is back:
1. Zelena used Dr. Frankenstien (explaining why he was in the episode) to bring Rumple back to life. Would explain why he is mad (like all the others who came back to life).
2. Belle and Bae brought him back to life, but Zelena has the dagger and is controlling his movements, explaining how he is locked up.